The debate over the FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug showcases our system’s skewed priorities

Now, guess who will ultimately foot many of these immense bills. Most Americans living with Alzheimer’s are 65 or older. This means that Medicare is on tap to pick up the largest share of the drug’s expense, which could be as much as $50 billion annually, according to Bloomberg. Rachel Sachs, a Washington University associate law professor who studies regulatory efforts, warned that this could single-handedly triple annual expenditures on Medicare Part B, which pays for drugs administered intravenously in doctor’s offices as aducanumab would be. Such cost increases could threaten the program’s solvency. Private-insurance costs, too, could be affected if a wide array of people — such as seniors who suspect mild memory issues — seek the medication, not just the early-stage Alzheimer’s patients to whom it is targeted.